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THE NATIONAL CRISIS, 



S E R oVI O N, 



PREACHER IN THE 



FIRST REF. PROT. DUTCH CHURCH, 



l^rlicncctarly, April riS, 1801, 



BY 



RE V. E. E. SEEL YE, D. D., 



PASTOR OF THE CHURCH. 



Schenectady, N. Y. 

B. NOTT SCIIEUMERHOIIN, PRINTER, 

1861. 



THE NATIONAL CRISIS, 



s E R ]Sd[ o isr 



PREACHED IN THE 



FIRST REF. PROT. DUTCH CHURCH, 



Schenectady, April 88, 1861< 



BT 



REV. E. E. SEEL YE, D. D., 



PASTOll OF THE CHURCH. 



Schcoectady, N. Y. 

E. NOTT SCHERMEUHORN, PRINTER, 

18(51. 



■ t 



3rfr"'5.t- 



To the Rev. Edward E- Seelye. D. D. Pa.tor of First Ref. Dutch Church. 
Schenectady. 

U.V. DK.H 8.. :-^^^^ ^^^^^^.^^^^ „eB.hers<,f your Church and parish having 
listened with deep interest to your views on the present condition of our nat,ona 
affairs, as embodied in your sermon on Sunday, the 28th ;nst., respectfully sol.c.t 
copy of same for publication. 

Simon C. Oboot, i^Amr 

Otis SstrrH, 



W. Van Vbanken, 

F.BNtSTUS rUTNAM, 

J. B. Qbamam, 

C. Yatko, 

H. W. V. Clvte, 



C. F. HoAO, 
Abm. Vbooman, 
Thos. H. Rbkves, 
Nicholas Cain, 

N. 8WITS, 

E. Rosa. 



Schenectady, April 2^,1661. 
your disposal. 



Very respectfully yours. 



£.. E. SEELYC. 



SERMON. 



2 Samuel \: 10. 

Hf (f good roin-agr, ami Icf vi^ jihn; Ike vicii fur our penpli', ami for t!ic citits of cu 

(Jod : and the Lord do lliat which ttccincth Him ^ood. 

It is a sad and stern necessity which calls upon the 
ministers of peace to speak of war. As Christians, 
and as men we feel an instinctive recoil from the 
dreadful subject ; and were we able, we would glad- 
ly shut our eyes and turn away froui the paini'ul 
events which hourly startle us. 

But it is utterly impossible to ignore them. It is 
vain to attempt to keep silence concerning them. — 
The condition of our unhappy land awakens the 
anxious solicitude of every member of our commu- 
nities. All day long we talk of it : it liaunts our 
dreams through the troubled night. 

At length the political conflicts which have long 
agitated our nation, have culminated in deliberate 
violence and bloodshed. The angry cloud, so long 
hovering in the Southern skj^ has burst in fury and 
disgorged its stormy magazines of wrath. The au- 
thority of our Federal Government has been defied; 
rebellion has reared its bloody standard, and treason 
has put on "the horrid front of w'ar." That glorious 
old flag of the Union, whose Stars arjd Stripes have 



G 

so long waved in peace — that symbol of freedom and 
hope, under whose folds the American citizen has 
rested in safety upon the fartherest shores, and in 
the strangest lands — that flag, so glorious in peace 
and terrible in war, has been trampled under foot 
tipononrown soil, by the men whom it has sheltered 
from their cradles, and who have solemnly sworn to 
defend it with their lives. For two days a handful of 
brave men in a beleagured fortress, upheld it in the 
face of thousands of enemies ; till wearied out under 
the fire of their destructive batteries, our national 
standard vras lowered before the flag of rebellion. — 
The very Capitol of the nation is endangered, and 
hostile armies are marshaling to overthrow it. 

In this emergency the proclamation of the Presi- 
dent* has gone forth, summoning the loyal people of 
the land to arms ! And thouo;h it be a terrible thiniyc 
to contemplate, yet I know of no grander, sublimer 
spectacle in human aifairs. than the prompt, the uni- 
versal response of the Northern millions to this call. 
Like a slumbering giant suddenly aroused, the nation 
has sprung to its feet and rushed to arms. Party 
differences and political animosities have been swept 
like the chaff of the threshing floor. The ploughman 
has left the furrow. The smith heard the tocsin, and 
dropped his hammer upon his anvil. Young men 
fly from the desk and the counter, from the office and 
the factory, from the shop and the fireside, and 
hurry to the rendezvous. Daily we hear the shrill 
<fi and the stirring drum — daily the cry is ' to 
arms !' Fond mothers clasp their sons in agonizing 



-sorrow, and with bodlmmed eyes and fervent prayers 
to Heaven, bid them go to their country's call. — 
Fathers kiss their children, and with a hurried "o-ood- 
bye" exchange their quiet homes for the soldier's 
ranks. All knov/ the cause. The Chief Magistrate 
of the nation has proclaimed that our Federal Union 
was imperiled, and asked the people to rally for its 
defense. Twenty millions of freemen stand up to- ( 
day and answer — it shall be done. \ 

It is useless for me to come here to-day, and affect 
to pass over in silence, the events which crowd upon 
us. Even while the Sabbath's light smiles around us, 
and the hallowed walls of the sanctuary inclose us, 
w^e strive in vain to withdraw our thoughts from the 
thrilling scenes of the hour. ^iVe v/ill not try to do 
it. As patriots and as christians, it becomes us 
now, in this house of God, to ask what is our duty, 
and where is our hope ? 

V/e can find no more appropriate v/ords to bring 
to you to-day, than the animating appeal of Joab to 
the armies of Israel, when they stood in array against 
the allied powers of Ammon and Syria, and carried 
the war to the gates of their foes. "Be of o-ood 
courage, and let us play the men for our people, and 
for the cities of our God : and the Lord do that which 
seemeth good in Ilis sight." 

The crisis of our country repeats to us the stirriix'- 
exhortation, "Be of good courage, let up play the 
men." 

True courage is a noble virtue, a most important 
elcTucnt of Christian character. It is a scntii!>c!:t 



8 

far rciiioved, and easily distinguished from a blind 
recklessness of dan";er — a savarre, ferocious violence 
which is stirred into fury by the volcanic bursts of 
passion. It has its foundation in the convictions of du- 
ty, and can measure danger in its fearful reality, with 
a stern unyielding fortitude. It looks the threaten- 
ing emergency fidl in the face, it surveys its di- 
mensions with a cool and steady eye, and prepares 
to meet it, whatever be the consequences. 

I rejoice to discover, what I believe to be, this gen- 
nine courage, developing its power in the universal 
uprising of American freemen during the past week. 
There has been indeed a wonderful enthusiasm — a 
wide-spread excitement among the masses. But, as 
I pass through the seething crowds, I find no one 
who rejoices in the strife. Thousands have rushed 
to arms, but it is not because our people, long used 
to the arts of peace, have been suddenly transformed 
into ruflians eager for the strife. No. If I have not 
mistaken utterly the temper of the people, there is 
but one universal feeling of deep sorrow — one 
anxious, earnest desire to avoid, if possible, the shed- 
ding of blood. 

But back of this and deeper still, 1 read their stern 
and fell determination, at all hazards, to sustain this 
government, and vindicate the Constitution. He 
who calculates that this mighty uprising of the past 
week is but an ephemeral burst of braverj^ — a sud- 
den paroxysm of excitement, which v.'ill soon subside 
and vanish like the mist, will find that he has failed 
to interpret aright the phenomenon before him. The 



9 

men who liave iiuiptered to arms and are nuistci-ini^ 
still, understand the mission they are undertaking 

■^ CD* 

The people are serious, thonghtful, and in earnest— 
none seem disposed to tritle, none affect to laugh. 
Regiments march through some of our laro-e cities 
in silence, no drum need beat to keep their courage 
up. 

This true courage, founded on a sense of duty and 
a conviction of the right, is the sterling virtue 
which the times demand. Because it is cool, delib- 
erate, forbearing, not a few Southern Hotspurs have 
been taught to speak of us as a race of cowards. But 
wo betide the day when they try the ronl temper of 
our people on the battle field. It is this rational 
courage which is reluctant to strike, and will not 
strike without a cause to strike for, which we need to 
cherish now, that we may "play the men for our 
people and the cities of our God." 

I remark also, that such courage well becomes us 
now, for we are not driven to despair. I admit that 
our position is a trying one, but we are not lost as a 
nation. They who are in rebellion against the Con- 
stitution, are by far inferior in numbers and resources 
to ourselves. That divided North — of which Seces- 
sionists have dreamed so long and hoped so much — 
is gone ! The people of the free States to-day are a 
unit, more by far than were the people of the Colo- 
nies in seventeen hundred and seventy-six. Thank 
God I we are a nation still ! We have a Government 
to-day ! The old flag of the Union and the Constitu- 
tion is the flag the people have determined shall 



10 

v/ave aloft over this land. I a;ii not inclifFerent to 
the seriousness of the crisis. I know that the path 
immediately before us looks dim and gloomy. I 
fear that the shock of battle, the thunder of artillery 
and the blood-stained ground, may signal the path- 
way over ^vhich those Stars and Stripes shall move ; 
but they shall move from the Potomac to the Gulf. 
I do not despair of the Republic! In the darkest 
days of ancient Rome, when Hannibal, with his Car- 
thaginian legions, had slain her Consuls and routed 
her last army on the bloody field of Canna, and was 
thundering at her gates — at that time the Roman 
Questor sold in the Forum, at public auction, and at 
high price, the very spot of ground outside the walls 
on which the conqueror was encamped. So, my 
countrymen, let us look with hope beyond the pres- 
ent tumult and distress. Let us have faith in our 
glorious Union to stand the shocks of revolution, and 
let us move with firm and cheerful confidence to- 
wards the future of our history. 

I have spoken of that courage which our times 
demands, and which will enable us to play the men 
for our people, as something more than a mere spirit 
of bravery and contempt of danger. It is a noble 
moral sentiment. In its highest form it is fidelity to 
God and humble dependence upon His arm. Would 
we then put on our armor in this hour of danger, with 
such a courage, we need most of all to behold God's 
uplifted hand in these dangers, to confess with peni- 
tence our sins, to entreat His pardoning mercy, and 
to supplicate His blessing. God, the Most High, is 



11 

dealing in judgment with us for our iniquities as a 
people. We have provoked Jehovah to jealousy, and 
He has turned His face away from us in anger, 

I need not refer at this time to the viees and 
crimes practiced in all our communities, — vices for 
which the individual is alone responsible, — for it is 
more appropriate for me to speak of those public 
sins, which are justly chargable to us as a people. — 
It is fearfully true that in our national and political 
life, we have persistently disregarded the Lord our 
God. How has corruption long grown rank in our 
high places! How have truth and righteousness be- 
come so far banished from the arena of politics, that 
the conscientious christian man, who fears his God 
and will not descend to the falsehood and artifice 
and low demagogueism of party ; nor buy men's 
votes with money, as one would cattle in the n)ar- 
ket-place — such a man is well nigh ostracized from 
public office. Public virtue has been debauched. 
Who does not know that bribery, v/holesale pecula- 
tion, perjury and punic fiiith, are familiar words 
every day charged upon multitudes in public life ? 
Who seeks to conceal the fact that men reeking in 
vice, have been promoted to our halls of legislation, 
or have been chosen to places upon the benches of 
justice ? 0, does not truth compel me to declare, 
that drunkenness, debauchery, gambling, Sabbath 
breaking, spoilation and kindred crimes, have black- 
ened the characters of too many men, wdio have re- 
ceived the suffrages of the people. And tell me, are 
the people guiltless, wdiile sucli things are patent and 



12 

known to all ? While there is a God in Heaven, sliall 
a people expect to go on thus and escape his severest 
iudo-nients ? "Shall not I visit for these thin2:s ?" saith 
the Lord Almighty. While quietness and security 
reigned, the public conscience slumbered. But it 
cannot slumber now, for the visitations of divine dis- 
pleasure are now upon us; our long security is dis- 
turbed, the tide of national prosperity has been 
checked, and v/e are toss-ed to-day amidst the lieav- 
ings of revolution. 0, is not the voice of God lifted 
up above the tumult to-day, calling us to repentance ? 
What duty is more imperative at this hour, than for 
us to come before our God with true humility, to 
confess our grievous sins with unfeigned contrition, 
and entreat llim to return to us with His favour an<I 
forgiveness ? Say not, that it will dampen our cour- 
age to bow before our God. It is^»/// that will mnko 
cowards of us all, and that burden must be taken 
away, if we would play the men for our people and 
tlie cities of our God. In all the troubles of the 
times, I hear the voice of God calling for a refonna- 
tion among us. Repent, ye people, if ye would ei-' 
cape His severer strokes. Ye who know how to pray, 
should wait earnestly at the throne of grace, that 
Jehovah would forgive and save us. In ancient 
times, when the war note rang through the tribes of 
Israel, the people Hocked to Shiloli to ask counsel of 
Jehovah, before they set the battle in array against 

the foe. 

Let us to-day iniitate their example ! Let us be 
assured that no better prepnration for the present 



13 

crisis can be secured, than for our people to come 
with humble prayer before Ilini— to confess our sins 
and commit our country's cause to His ahnighty care. 
This done, we can take the field against rebellion, 
and in the name of the Lord set up our banner. 

Again. If we would be of good courage, it is of 
the highest importance that we clearly understand 
and deeply feel the righteousness of the cause for 
which we struggle. In this land we take up arms as 
freemen. We do not muster as the blind myrmidons 
of a despot, or as the unthinking irresponsible ma- 
chines of which armies have been so often composed. 

Our people in this land see and feel the moment- 
ousness of the issue, and can appeal to the God^ of 
holiness, for the justice of their cause. It is nothing 
less than the veryexistence of our nation, as a naUon. 
It is the question whether we are, or are not, a mere 
assemblage of peoples without a national life or 
unity. It is the question, whether for nearly a cen- 
tury, we have been playing a stupendous farce be- 
fore the world, and living and acting under the mis- 
erable delusion that we were a nation, bound together 
by one supreme organic law, while we were merely 
a copartnership of communities, each independent of 
the other. It comes to this according to the fatal 
heresy behind which treason skulks to-day. 

The doctrine of Southern secession, is national 
suicide. To admit it— to allow States to leave the 
Federal Union' on that basis— is to proclaim the 
jubilee of anarchy, the millennium of barbarism. 
This every man sees and feels. The premises and 



34 

the conclusion are near togethcr-so near that no 
keen dialectics or profound investigations are needed 
to discover them. The masses see them, they under- 
stand them. 

I do not wonder that before such a question as this, 
all other issues sink out of sight, like lead in thJ 
ocean's depths. I do not see how the madness and 
infatuation of those who have rebelled against the 
Government could be exhibited in a more glaring, 
manner, than in this extreme form in which they 
have chosen to stake the controversy. On all the 
old issues they could ask us to come and reason to- 
gether. On all those questions arising out of and 
connected with the institution of slavery— its ricrhts 
under the Constitution-how and where it mi^ght 
seek for extension in the territories, and what should 
be the policy of the Federal Government towards it 
—on all such questions, the South might claim a 
hearing, and rely upon friends in the North to speak 
for them. 

But now the scene is changed. Without waiting 
for a single hostile act, on the part of the goveim- 
ment, against their rights, they have bid defiance to 
the Constitution. They have declared, by their acts, 
that we are not a nation and never have been. They 
have fired upon our flag. If ever war was justifiable— 
if ever a nation could stand uncovered before the 
God of battles and appeal to His almighty arm to 
give victory to the right, then I soleimdy believe 
that we may, in this hour, challenge Heaven upon 
our side. Our revolutionary sires fought for a holy 



16 

cause, but ours is holier. Had they failed in their 
long struggle for independence, they still might have 
returned to their loyalty, and as colonies of the 
Mother Country, advanced in wealth and power. 

But if we fail in sustaining our Federal Union now, 
while rebels are in arms to overthrow it, where can 
we go ? What will be these States, but lost Pleiads — 
plunging into chaos and night ? For us to fail in this 
tremendous crisis is national death and social an- 
archy. Never ! no, never can this nation make terms 
with this rebellion. All see this fact. All party lines 
are obliterated here, and the millions of the North 
stand in solid phalanx and appeal to the Almighty 
for the righteousness of their cause. The cause is 
one which every patriot can feel it worth while to 
die for. It is one which every Christian can plead 
for, before his Redeemer and his God. It is one 
which every minister of Jesus Christ can carry with 
him to the pulpit and advocate it with* the same 
voice with which he proclaims the wonders of re- 
demption. Viewing this to be the position of our 
people in this crisis, may we not say with a noble 
enthusiasm, "Be of good courage, and let us play the 
men for our people and for the cities of our God." 

Again. To the deep conviction of the equity of 
our cause, I may add that the duty of our people in 
unsheathing the sword, is strengthened by the kind 
forbearance of the Federal Government, under the 
most persistent provocations. For months the note 
of rebellion has rung through the South. Federal 

forts, arsenals, custom Iiuusl',-; and treasures have 



16 

been seized by violence. Government officials have 
been driven from their posts. The supreme law of 
the land has been defied, and a rival Confederacy 
has arrogated its legitimate authority. 

But durinLC all these events, the Federal Govern- 
ment refrained from striking a blow. The nation 
watched with patience the progress of events, and 
hoped for a peaceful settlement of the controversy^ 
but the only effect of this peaceful policy has been 
to endjolden our adversaries and to provoke assault. 
Our inaction was called weakness; our deep reluc- 
tance to war, was construed into cowardice — our for- 
bearance, into fear. At length all disguise was 
thrown off, and the work of civil war inaugurated at 
Charleston, where thousands of chivalrous foes opened 
their rebel batteries upon the walls of Sumter, de- 
fended by seventy brave men ; till after two days 
incessant fire, the flag of our Union was lowered be- 
fore its enemies. 

Until that time the mighty North refused to move. 
Not a spear or shield was seen among her tribes ; but 
the tidings of that assault dissipated all hopes of 
peace. The deep bomb of those guns in Charleston 
harbor, has reverberated among the granite hills of 
New Hampshire, along the shores of the Great Lakes, 
beyond the Mississippi, across the broad prairies of 
the West, and their echoes linger still among our 
Northern mountains, calling freemen to the field. 
Henceforth forbearance became impossible. The 
Chief Magistrate of the Nation issued his proclama- 
tion for men, and the people are now in arms. 



17 

No calm observer of the progress of events can 
my, that we have been hasty and eager for the fray. V»-v 
The freemen of the North are not thh'sting for blood. 
I know of no one who prefers war to peace. All 
would have rejoiced to have escaped the conflict, but 
it has come; and with stern inexorable purpose, the 
people have risen in their might, and have sworn to 
defend this government with their treasures and 
their lives! Our armies are mustering to the field. 
We stand to-day foce to face with the grim and sol- 
emn reality — War! 

What are the particular duties which this oi^isis 

urges upon us ? 

j^irst-^The people are bound to answer promptly 
to the call /or men. Mere loquacious patriotism is 
not what is wanted in this hour. Let those who are 
of suitable age and able to bear arms, enter their 
names upon the muster roll. Let none refuse, with- 
out a reason, which they will not be ashamed to give. 
Let the response be so universal that the question to 
be settled will be, not, who shall go ? but who will 
stay at home ? I believe it will be so throughout 
our States. Let not our city be behind others in 
furnishing her quota of true men. 

Secondly— We must be prepared to sustain the 
most vigorous policy of the Government, and second 
the mosi; thorough and extended plans of operation. 
If we would save the effusion of blood, if we would 
shorten the fearful struggle, if we would conquer an 
enduring peace, we must smite this rebellion with a 
o-iantarm! No half-way measures will suffice. No 



18 

feeble treatment will cure the malignant cancer. 
Suro-ery ! terrible surgery is demanded to cut deep 
around its roots, and probe it to the bottom. This 
is not cruelty but kindness. Philanthropy demands 
it — patriotism and liberty demand it. Now is the 
time to settle the great questions of national rights 
and constitutional freedom, within this Union, in such 
a way that the grim spectres of secession and treason 
shall not rise upon our graves, and shake their mar- 
rowless bones and gory locks in the faces of our 
posterity. 

Thirdly — It is our immediate duty to provide lib- 
erally for the wants of the families of those who have 
gane to fisfht our battles. Such families have a noble 
claim upon us which we must cheerfully acknowledge. 
The soldier in his distant encampment when he 
thinks of home, must be told to feel, that while he is 
bivouacing around his camp fires, his wife and little 
ones far away, are not forgotten, but kind eyes and 
friendly hands are w\atching over them. Our con- 
tributions should be free and liberal for this purpose. 
Our Volunteer Relief Committees should be furnished 
with the means to supply the wants of every soldier's 
household. No Peter's pence collection should bo 
the measure of our patriotism, but according to our 
individual means, let us be ready for every appeal for 
help. 

Fourthly — As Christian men having done all to 
stand, and play the men for our people, let us be 
constant and earnest in our supplications, that the 
God of justice and of might will give victory to our 



19 

cause. While we send forth our sons and brethren 
to the field, let our prayers and benedictions daily 
follow them. Let us not boast too much of our 
physical prowess, or our material resources. For the 
race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the 
strong. In God alone is our help, in this hour of 
trial, and while we salute our flag and cheer on our 
noble Volunteers, let us after all, turn to the Lord 
our God who is our sun and our shield. The deeper 
our convictions are, of the righteousness of our cause, 
the more earnestly and boldly should we carry it in 
our hearts to God. 

Pray then for our brethren already in arms. 
The}^ have gone from our cities, towns and villages. 
Some from our own community, some from this very 
sanctuary, at the first call of duty and of danger. 
They have gone to defend the Union and the Con- 
stitution, to preserve our dearest rights, our most 
sacred liberties. They have gone to breast the shock 
of battle where the Stars and Stripes must go, to 
shed their blood if needs be, and to offer up their 
lives upon the altar of their Country. Pray for them. 
May the God of battles spare them from the ravages 
of disease, and be a shield to them in the field of 
combat. May His banner be over them and inspire 
them with a noble courage, which disdains to fly be- 
fore the foe. May His divine spirit lead them to a 
true and humble confidence in Him, and faith in the 
merits of Jesus Christ, His Son, that should they fall, 
they may die at the post of duty and be meet for 
Heaven. Let us pray for those who are at the head of 



20 

this Government, and to whom are now committed 
the weightiest responsibilities. Our Cliief Magistrate 
and his associates should be remembered by our peo- 
ple in their prayers, that God would endue them with 
all that wisdom, prudence, energy and decision which 
will fit them to play the men in this hour of danger. 
They need to-day the hearty and unwavering sup- 
port of every loyal citizen. Let us then rebuke ev- 
ery sinister attempt to spread abroad, distrust and 
doubt among the people. Let us feel a confidence 
in the Government, and pray that God would bless 
our rulers. And especially let us thank Him, that 
He has spared to our Country, that veteran Chief- 
tain whose experienced counsels now direct our mil- 
itary movements — that old Hero who has so long led 
our armies on from victory to victory, and who by 
liis deep laid strategy, and unerring forecast, his cool 
unshaken courage, and accurate execution, has prov- 
.ed himself the greatest General of the age, — God 
bless and strengthen him ! May he live to see the 
day when the old flag shall v»'ave again in glorious 
peace over this whole nation! 

It is our duty also, as a christian people, to pra}'' 
for those who are in arms against us. Not that God 
would favour their nefarious schemes, or prosper 
their traitorous enterprises. But we can and should 
beseech Him that he would dispel the delusion which 
is upon them, and reveal to them their fiital error, 
' — that He, who hath in his hands the hearts of all 
men, would turn their hearts from their evil pur- 
poses, that he would calm the stormy sea of passion, 



21 

/ivvaken their relentings, and lead them back to loy- 
alty and obedience. 

0, let us guard our feelings with a double dili- 
gence, in a time like the present. Let not the high 
souled emotions of patriotism be mingled with the 
bitterness of private revenge. Let us beware lest 
the blade which we unsheath, as the sword of jus- 
tice, become forged into the dagger of malice and 
fiendish hate. Let us pray for our enemies, that 
they may be converted into friends. 

And having conscientiously endeavored to know 
our duty, and be prepared to meet it at every sacri- 
fice, let us calmly repeat the concluding words of 
Israel's valiant Chieftain, " and the Lord do that 
which seemeth him good." 

A devout reco"'nition of God's overrulinrr Provi- 
dence, in continually disposing of human events and 
determining their results, is peculiarly befitting to 
us, in our present circumstances. The Most High 
ruleth in Heaven and on Earth, "He changeth the 
times and the seasons; he removeth Kings and set- 
eth up Kings." "He increaseth the nations and des- 
troyeth them." Do all we can, in marshalling the 
m.ighty men, and multiplying our resources, our des- 
tines are in His hands. Christian patriotism and 
courage fiiU back and rest on his Almighty arm, say- 
ing when duty is done, "and the Lord do that which 
seemeth him good." Such a sentiment should in- 
spire the hearts of our people in this crisis. That 
swaggering bravery, which cowards glory in — which 
vents its iiery valor iu huge curses and terrific oaths 



22 



and boasts when it puts on its armour, more than 
when it puts it off, may disdain such language, and 
sneer at it as cant. But christian heroes use it, and 
with Joab, the old scared veteran of Israel's hosts- 
say "The Lord do that which seemeth him good." 

This language is creature-like and becoming, for 
it is the language of felt dependence, of trust and 
humble confidence in the Almighty. It is the lan- 
guage of acquiesence in His will. It is the language 
of conscious satisfaction that we have sought to 
know our duty and have done all we could, whatev- 
er may betide us. It is thd language of submissive 
hope, gazmg with a steady eye through the thicken- 
ing gloom, and catching rays of brightness in the 
horoscope of futurity. With this sentiment filling 
our hearts, we rally around the Stars and Stripes, 
for duty, and commit our country and our libertieJ 
—our children's heritage and our national destiny 
to God ! "And the Lord do that which seemeth him' 
good." 

I cannot close without directing your thouo-hts to 
the last peaceful refuge of the pious, from all the 
dark and tumultuous agitations of this life. Amidst 
all the revolutions of State, the overtnrnings of Em- 
pires, and the decay of human governments, there 
IS one Kingdom which- cannot be moved. It is the 
Kingdom of God ! Its throne is in the heavens. Its 
reign is in the hearts of all of God's redeemed peo- 
ple. Treason cannot endanger it. Fleets and ar- 
mies cannot destroy it. Here is our last asylum ' 
from a troubled world. "Therefore will not we fear, 



23 



though the earth be removed, and though the moun« 
tains be carried into the midst of the sea." "What- 
ever be the fate of our country and her proud insti- 
tutions, we are invited to take refuge in this King- 
dom and secure a citizenship in Heaven. Let us 
listen then to the embassy of grace which comes to 
us in the Gospel ; and by true repentance and faith 
in Jesus Christ the Saviour, return to our allegiance 
to our Father, God. Then, when all that we hold 
dear on earth is lost, our souls may rest in heaven. 
Then, when we die, whether on the battle field 
amidst the oiiarge of squadrons and the thunders o£ 
artillery, or in the tranquil hour of summer twilight 
surrounded by all the gentle offices of long affection 
and loved associations of home— wherever ourspirits 
take their flight from Earth, we gain the victory, and 
win a crown of glory which fadeth not away. 



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